The hiring of a couple of new coaches a year-and-a-half ago at Seguin High School had a nice side effect.

Seguin senior Marissa Bradley still has a season to play as a Lady Matador.

The Marion boys and girls squared off against two very good teams Friday night in Marion in the first District 26-3A games of the season — in the form of the Comfort Deer (girls) and the Comfort Bobcats (boys).

This game was huge.

For most of them, it was the last football game they will ever play.

The Seguin Matador powerlifting team is off to a great start after winning the first meet of the season Saturday at Lehman High School in Kyle — and having two lifters win their weight class and qualify for regionals. 

It was a little closer than the coach would have liked.

Two crucial early season district games went down to the wire in a Tuesday night doubleheader at Navarro High School, as the Lady Panthers fell to Gonzales and the boys beat the Apaches in back-to-back games.

First, Seguin’s Hayden Haas had to make the team. 

Texas Lutheran won their third game of the week against a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference team by beating Southwestern 77-69.

Following a brutally tough District 26-5A opening schedule that saw them play three of the teams expected to contend for the district title, the Seguin Matadors were in desperate need of a win.

The Marion Bulldogs had turned a corner on their basketball season, stringing together four straight wins to take the Nixon-Smiley tournament over the Christmas Break.

I wish there was more of me to go around. 

It’s not often a team plays two games in three hours.

Matador kicker Garett Stiles was a weapon for Seguin in 2019.

It’s one of my favorite things to do as sports editor of the Seguin Gazette.

The Lady Mats were in need of a win.

Seguin High School sophomore Nick Carmona is instantly recognizable at the bowling alley.

In a 2019 volleyball season that saw all of our area teams make the playoffs, postseason honors have poured in for the teams from Seguin, Navarro, Marion and Lifegate.

The Marion girls basketball team got three wins at the Poteet tournament over the weekend, with Lizzie Abrameit leading the way.

It’s how the Seguin Matadors want to play.

The “pressers” became the “pressees” Tuesday night at Goldie Harris Gym.

Seguin head coach Dwayne Gerlich got his 400th career win, as the Matadors beat SA Marshall in the second of three games for the Mats over the weekend in the Matador Classic at Goldie Harris Gym.

Four straight wins in their own tournament — and a nine-game win streak — came to an end Saturday night at Navarro, as the Lady Panthers (11-5) fell to Midland Greenwood, 54-31.

SAN ANTONIO — The Wimberley Texans and the Navarro Panthers switched roles on Friday in their second meeting of the season.

An almost entirely new team, a playoff berth for the second year in a row and an outstanding second half against a heavily favored Hutto Hippo team made the season a success for the 2019 Seguin Matadors football team.

The Navarro Lady Panthers (7-4) got their fifth win in a row on Tuesday night, beating cross-county rival Marion 55-29 in Navarro.

There may not have been thousands of basketball fans Tuesday afternoon at the AT&T Center, but the Seguin Matadors played like there were.

The move to a small Christian school may have been just what Gracie Peters needed.

The Navarro Panthers (13-0) have once again advanced through three rounds of the playoffs only to find an old nemesis waiting for them.

CUERO — Teams that go deep in the playoffs often have to find various ways to win games.

No offense can enjoy much success in football without a strong center.

One doesn’t often see three freshmen playing and starting for a varsity basketball team at the high school  level.

The Navarro Panthers just can’t seem to get through a post season without seeing Cuero.

Basketball got fully underway last week, with the girls teams from Seguin, Navarro and Marion, and the boys teams from Seguin and Navarro all in action.

The Seguin, Navarro girls basketball game at Navarro on Tuesday, Nov. 26 was changed to a 5 p.m. start, after originally being scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

This one was special for Lifegate head coach John Stout.

CORPUS CHRISTI—Like Ol’ Man River in the famous song, the Navarro Panthers just keep rolling along.

KARNES CITY — It’s the bane of every football coach on the planet.

Attribute it to first-game jitters. 

Travel down to Corpus Christi on Friday night and you will get the chance to see “Navarro vs. Rio Hondo: The Sequel.”

It won’t be a .500 team this week for Marion (8-3), as the Bulldogs take on 10-1 Industrial in Karnes City on Friday night in the area round of the playoffs.

The Lifegate Christian Falcons football team looks for a repeat 2A TCAL state championship this weekend, after mercy-ruling North Texas Christian Academy, 67-6, in the state semifinal on Saturday at Central Catholic High School in San Antonio.